Milk bottle safe



April 14, 1936. v BAUM 2,037,361

MILK BOTTLE SAFE Filed July 18, 1955 INVENTOR. A eusnqfinuw ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 14, 1936 UNlTED srr PATENT. OFFICE MILK BOTTLE SAFE AugustA. Baum, New York, N. Y. Application July 18, 1935, Serial No. 32,034 3Claims. (01. 232-42) One object of this invention is the provision of areceptacle or safe adapted to have one or more bottles of milk depositedtherein by the milkman, the safe being so constructed as to preventremoval of the bottle through the opening by means of which it wasinserted.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a milk bottle safehaving means whereby the bottle may be removed through a door which canbe opened only by the tenant of the house.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a milk bottle safeadapted to have one or more bottles inserted therein from the top of thesafe, means being provided to prevent ex-- traction of the bottlethrough the top once it has been inserted, the back of the safe having adoor thereon through which the bottle may be extracted by its owner, theback of the safe standing against the. door of the house so that 2access to the back door of the safe can be had only by first opening thehouse door, thus preventing unauthorized persons from gaining access tothe milk bottles within the safe. 7

The above and other objects will become apparent in the descriptionbelow, in which characters of reference refer to like-named parts in theaccompanying drawing, forming a part hereof.

Referring briefly to the drawing, Figure '1 is a plan view, partly insection, showing the safe standing against the house door.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a reduced rear elevational view of the safe, partly insection, showing the back door lock in closed position.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary View similar to Figure 3, showing the backdoor lock in released position.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral Ill represents the frontwall of the safe or receptacle ll having the rear wall I2. An opening [3is provided in the top of the safe H, which is normally closed by a pairof complementary doors l4 and I5 which are hingedly attached at I6 tothe periphery of the opening 13, and which are normally urged intoclosed position by the spring l1. These doors can be swung downwardthrough an arc of approximately 90 degrees, and when released arerestored to their normal closed position.

Adjacent the front and rear walls of the safe, at a distance below thehinges I6, a pair of rods or shafts I8 are supported in the end walls ofthe safe. Rotatably mounted on each of these shafts are a plurality offingers l9 normally retained in horizontal-or raised position-by coiledspringsZB stretched between the said end walls. An ear 2! on each fingerIi] acts as a limit stop to prevent the fingers from rising above thehorizontal position. .Each finger l9 comprises a U-shaped body having apair of parallel walls 22 united by a web 23, the walls 22 projectingbeyond the length of the web and being narrowed or tapered at theirends.

When a bottle is inserted through the top of the safe, the doors I4 andIE will be forced downward into the position shown in broken lines inFigure 2. The bottle in its descent will then press the fingers l9downward as shown in broken lines in Figure 2, and when the bottle haspassed between the turned down fingers IS the latter will rise to normalhorizontal position. To permit the bottle to be dropped into the safe,the bottom is provided with a padded or raised resilient floor 2t. Oncethe bottle is in the safe, there is little possibility that it can beremoved through the opening l3.

The wall I2 is provided with an opening normally covered by a hingeddoor 25, the sides of this opening being formed by a frame formedintegral with the end Walls of the safe. A round hole is providedcentrally through the door 25, through which a square stem 21 passes.This stem has an enlarged fiat head 28 on the outside of the door, andits inner end is threaded to receive a. lock nut 29. An extension leveror handle 30 has one end provided with a square hole through which thestem 21 passes, this lever? end being clamped between the head 28 andthe door 25 by means of the nut 29. The other end of the lever 30 isbent, into a coil 3| around a resilient core 32. The house door is shownat 33, having the back of the safe H thereagainst when the door 33 isclosed. The edge of the door 33 is beveled for a short distance at 35,so that when the door is closed the coiled end 3| of the lever 36 willlie in the space between the bevel 35 and the door jam 34, and besecurely locked therein.

' Between the nut 29 and the door 25, a locking cam 36, having therein acentral square hole through which the stem 21 passes, is clamped. Thiscam. 36 is substantially rectangular in shape and is provided withprotruding rounded tongues 37 at opposite ends. When the cam 36 is inthe position shown in Figure 3, the tongues 31 protrude over the frame26 (as also shown in Figure 1), so that the door 25 cannot be opened.When the lever 30 is rotated counterclockwise to the vertical positionshown in Figure 4, the tongues 3'! will be clear of the frame 26, thuspermitting the door 25 to be swung upward, whence the bottle mayberemoved from the safe. This can obviously not be done, however, whilethe house door 33 is closed.

Modifications in form and structure may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A milk bottle safe comprising a box-like casing having an opening atthe top through which the bottle is to be inserted, complementary swingdoors horizontally pivoted about said opening having resilient, meansnormally retaining said doors in closed position, shafts mountedparallel with said pivots in opposite walls of said casing, fingersrotatably mounted in a. row on each of said shafts and normallyprojecting horizontally toward the center of said casing, a coiledspring suspended from said opposite walls beneath each row of saidfingers and normally raising said fingers, limit stops on said fingersto prevent the same from being rotated by said springs above thehorizontal position, a door in the rear wall of the casing through whichthe bottle may be removed therefrom, and means for locking said reardoor.

2. A milk bottle safe comprising a box-like casing having an opening atthe top through which the bottle is to be inserted, complementary swingdoors horizontally pivoted about said opening having resilient meansnormally retaining said doors in closed position, means mounted belowsaid doors for preventing lifting of the bottle therethrough after thebottle has been dropped to the bottom of said casing, a door in the rearwall of said casing through which the bottle may be removed, androtatable locking means mounted on said rear door.

3. A milk bottle safe comprising a box-like casing having an opening atthe top through which the bottle is to be inserted, means mountedadjacent said opening for preventing withdrawal of the bottomtherethrough after it has been inserted, a door mounted in the rear wallof said casing through which said bottle may be withdrawn, rotatablelocking means mounted on said rear door, a lever extending from saidlocking means and having an enlarged end, said enlarged end being jammedbetween the house door and the door jam thereof to prevent rotation ofsaid locking means to open said rear door.

AUGUST A. BAUM.

